1. Why does Elliot Gorn consider the fight between Sullivan and Hyer to be so historically significant? What can the historian gain from studying this fight that could not be gained by studying other incidents from the 1840s?

2. What differences and similarities are there between the 1849 prizefight described by Gorn in his article, and the 1842 fight that claimed Thomas McCoy's life? What significance do these similarities and differences have when considering how sports responded to public opinion in the 1840s?

3. Please use this thread for discussing the importance and significance of the primary source extract from Elkanah Watson's diary relating to a cockfighting event in Virginia in the 1780s. In particular, please consider the following question: what does a study of this cockfighting event tell us about 1780s Virginian society? Other issues and questions you might like to consider:

a) Without looking this up, what do you think Elkanah Watson's background is? How do you think his background might affect the way that he views the cockfighting event?
b) Does Watson approve or disapprove of the event? Which parts of the spectacle does he find appealing, and which does he view with concern?
c) What parts of his account surprised you? Did you expect an event in 1780s Virginia to look like this?

4. Please use this thread for discussing issues relating to the primary source document containing the New-York Tribune's reporting of the death of boxer Thomas McCoy. In particular, what does reading this source tell us about the social, political, and cultural life of New York City and its surrounding areas in the 1840s? What can a historian learn about this period by studying this account of an infamous boxing bout?

Other questions you may wish to consider in your responses:

a) Without looking it up, what sort of political views do you think the New-York Tribune newspaper held? How would this newspaper fit into typical political debates of the 1840s? (If you don't know much about the 1840s, then ask yourself instead what issues seem particularly important in recounting the death of McCoy, and why they might be important to a newspaper editor)
b) Who does the author of this piece blame for the death of Thomas McCoy? What does that reveal to us about social structure in New York, or about broader political or cultural themes?
c) Why do you think a newspaper would give such a length y account of a boxing bout?

5. Why did many of the protagonists in Kenneth Cohen's article seek to become so heavily involved in sporting activities in the late 18th century? What did they hope to achieve from participating in sports?

6. How far do you agree with Cohen's argument that the promotion of political candidates through offering wagers was analogous to the gambling culture that had developed around horse racing? Does a historian need to understand this gambling culture in order to properly understand political elections in the late 1700s and early 1800s?

7. Taking all this week's readings into account - what does one learn about the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century by reading about its sporting events that one wouldn't learn in any other way? Does analyzing sporting culture provide a useful window into understanding the past? Why/why not? (less than one page)

8. Taking into account all this week's readings, how did the sporting culture of the period between 1760 and 1850 differ from the sporting culture you are familiar with today? Do the events described in this week's primary and secondary readings appear primarily as sporting contests or as excuses for social gatherings? What differences stand out the most prominently to you? Where do the events described seem most similar?

ARTICLE: The First American Championship Prizefight by Elliott J. Gorn

1. Why does Elliot Gorn consider the fight between Sullivan and Hye...